The present invention relates to dispensers of rolled products, and more particularly to dispensers comprising features that permit simple and easy loading of a roll of material into the dispenser.
Dispensing of rolled paper products such as paper toweling, bathroom tissue and the like is common in commercial facilities such as airports, manufacturing plants and shopping malls. Rolled paper products are dispensed in different types of locations within these facilities, such as restrooms and work areas. In such facilities, it is frequently important to utilize maintenance personnel in an efficient manner, including minimizing the number of visits maintenance personnel must make to these locations as well as minimizing the amount of time required attending to the dispensers on each visit.
During installation of a roll of material into many of the currently available dispensers, maintenance personnel must thread the leading edge of the rolled paper product through a series of rollers so that the product may be dispensed properly. Additionally, some dispensers require that the roll of paper product must be installed in the dispenser so that the roll rotates in a particular direction. If the roll of paper product is not loaded correctly, the product may not be dispensed properly. These types of dispensers require maintenance personnel to take additional time to ensure that the rolled paper product is loaded correctly into the dispenser and threaded properly through the dispensing mechanism.
Thus, it is desirable to utilize a dispenser that permits rolls of paper product to be easily and correctly loaded into the dispenser in a quick and efficient manner.
The dispenser of the present invention permits the simple and easy loading of rolled of paper products into the dispenser. An embodiment of a dispenser according to the present invention includes a housing that is adapted to support a roll of material. Selected embodiments of the dispenser permit the simultaneous dispensing of a stub roll. A cover may be attached to the housing, the cover being pivotable upwardly to an open position and pivotable downwardly to a closed position. A first roller may be attached to the housing. In particular embodiments, the first roller may be a drive roller. A second roller may be attached to the cover so that, when the cover is in its lowered position, the rollers are adjacent to each other and a nip is formed between the rollers. In some embodiments, the second roller may be a pressure roller.
An actuating mechanism or actuator may be provided which causes the rollers to dispense the rolled material disposed within the housing. A variety of actuating mechanisms may be utilized with the present invention. One such actuating mechanism may be configures so that it engages at least one of the first or second rollers to cause such roller to rotate and dispense rolled materials.
A dispensing opening is formed between the housing and the cover when the cover is in its closed position. In some embodiments, the housing may include a first dispensing region and the cover may include a second dispensing region. The dispensing opening in such an embodiment is formed by the first dispensing region and the second dispensing region when the cover is in its closed position.
To load a roll of material into the housing, the cover is moved to its open position and the roll of material is placed within the housing. The leading portion of that roll of material may extend over the first roller. The cover may then be moved to its closed position. The leading portion of the rolled material is captured in the nip formed between the first roller and the second roller and may extend through the dispensing opening. In such a dispenser, the individual loading the material into the dispenser does not need to take additional time to thread the leading portion of the roll of material through various openings in the dispenser. In such embodiments, the roll may be loaded into the dispenser without regard to the direction of rotation of that roll.